


A real Christmas

by flutterby_cupcake_26



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Magical Christmas, Sweet enough for toothache, hints of destiel - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-25
Updated: 2015-12-25
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:29:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5531009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flutterby_cupcake_26/pseuds/flutterby_cupcake_26
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Life on the road can be pretty bleak, with not much cause to celebrate the holidays. That is, until celestial intervention forces merriment and festivities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A real Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Professor_Maka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Professor_Maka/gifts).



> This is my gift for Professor_Maka from a fan fiction group we're both part of. A small group of us decided to do a fic exchange across our fandoms, and I drew her.
> 
> As Maggie isn't a Supernatural fan, I've tried to include some details from the shows to provide some context for her, so if you've stumbled across this story and feel it's a little repetitive, that's the reason why.
> 
> Also Maggie, some further context before you read: Essentially the show is about two brothers who travel across the country in their vintage car, looking for ghosts, ghouls, demons, and monsters to fight and kill in order to protect people. Their motto is "Saving people, hunting things, the family business" which their father imparted on them when they were young. They began "hunting" when they were small, after their mother was killed by a demon and their father became bent on revenge. At one point, Sam is killed and Dean makes a deal with another demon to bring Sam back to life. The trade off is that the demon can take his life after a year instead. Dean goes to Hell at the end of the year, and is pulled from the pit by an angel called Castiel, who is following orders in an attempt to stop the apocalypse from happening (which began with Dean's activities in Hell). After pulling Dean from the pit, and trying to issue commands from Heaven to the stubborn hunter, he and Dean begin to form a bond. This story is set some time after Dean is saved, and some time before the apocalypse, which places it in about season 4/5. It also has hints of Destiel, a popular ship within the fandom.
> 
> I hope that gives a little more clarity? And I hope I met your brief of 'sickeningly sweet', although I possibly could have done more :/

It was a typical December for Dean, Sam and Castiel. They were still crossing the country, looking for signs of paranormal activity to erase and protect civilians from, still living out of motel rooms and their prized 1967 Chevy Impala. It was unusual for the brothers to celebrate holidays, but with an angel now by their side, things were beginning to change. Castiel was curious about everything, and asking questions that others might find incessant, but Dean answered patiently as an adult would a precocious child.

 

“Why is that house adorned with small lights?” Castiel asked on one of their long drives across three states.

 

“Christmas, Cas.”

 

“And why is there a giant stack of white balls-”

 

“Christmas, Cas.”

 

Castiel didn’t miss the moment that Sam smirked, and looked away, out of the window.

 

“And it’s called a snowman, Cas.”

 

“That is neither a man, nor made of snow.”

 

Castiel could sense that the brothers were trying their best not to look at each other, the humorous tension between them growing.

 

“Didn’t you say your garrison was full of angels who just watched? Shouldn’t you know about Christmas?” Dean asked.

 

“It’s one thing to observe and one thing to understand,” Castiel pointed out from the backseat. “And I don’t understand how that plastic stack of white balls can be considered a snowman.”

 

“And I don’t understand how a virgin could give birth to the son of God, but apparently it happened.”

 

“God commanded it.” Castiel reminded them, as though that would fill in any information that Dean was apparently missing. This time, Dean and Sam did trade a smile, before reverting their gaze forward.

 

“There’s a tonne of crap around Christmas, Cas. Christmas trees, snowmen, carols, eggnog-”

 

“Presents, cookies, Santa, reindeer-”

 

“Pigs in blankets, mistletoe, ugly sweaters, seeing your family-”

 

“You don’t want us to sit here and explain it all, do you?” Sam sighed, turning in his seat to meet Castiel’s eye. Castiel merely raised his chin, levelling Sam with a serious stare. Dean was the one who began breaking down the lore for each element, and eventually Sam joined in. Castiel listened carefully to the explanations, and all the side stories the brothers interjected as well.

 

“Why don’t you celebrate Christmas?” Castiel asked when the stories were over.

 

“We’ve tried before,” Sam shrugged. “It didn’t work out.”

 

“It’s fine, Cas,” Dean said gently. “I got Sam every day, right?”

 

Castiel nodded, and asked no more questions. Dean and Sam eventually started discussing where they might find some gas and a place to sleep that night, unaware that the angel on the backseat was plotting.

 

*

 

The motel room was like a thousand similar rooms that the brothers had booked before. Two queen sized beds divided the small bathroom from the tiny kitchenette. Sam and Dean didn’t even bicker over which bed they were going to get - this too was routine, with Sam claiming the bed nearest the kitchenette and Dean closer to the bathroom - and instead they set about finding a nearby restaurant who might deliver food. Castiel watched from the musty, threadbare armchair in the room as they found a Chinese restaurant and placed an order, and Sam pulled out his laptop to do some research on potential cases.

 

The meal came, and the brothers put it away, not bothering to offer any to the celestial being who had no need for sustenance. They sat around for a while, watching television, before turning into their beds. When Castiel was sure that they were asleep, he put his plan into action. A Christmas tree appeared in the corner of the room, fully adorned with tinsel and baubles. A small nativity scene materialised on the small unit between the two beds, next to the alarm clock. Fairy lights adorned the walls, and a small amount of snow built up in the corner by the door, a snowman sitting proudly on top of the drifts.

 

Under the tree, a large amount of gifts appeared, while a tray of gingerbread and sugar cookies took place on the table in the kitchenette. Also present in the kitchenette, unseen until the brothers looked for food, was a holiday ham, and the stove became crowded with pans full of potatoes, sprouts and carrots.

 

When morning finally came, Sam was the first to blink open his eyes. He sat up, rubbing his face and staring around dumb-founded at the sight before him. And then he saw the stocking bulging at the foot of the bed, and scrambled up to dive in. He pulled out his first gift and tore off the paper, screwing it up and throwing it at his brother, who batted it away like a bothersome fly.

 

“Dean, wake up, it’s Christmas!”

 

Dean grunted, and rolled over. Sam looked up from the new iPod lead to meet Castiel’s eye.

 

“Thanks, Cas. You did all this, right?”

 

Castiel nodded slowly, and Sam returned his attention back to his presents as his brother slowly stirred.

 

“Is that a Christmas tree?” Dean asked sleepily.

 

“Uh-huh. Cas was busy last night. Wake up already, it’s completely Hallmark.” Sam tore some more wrapping paper, delving into his presents once more. Dean crawled out of his bed and headed to the bathroom, stopping just at the doorway.

 

“Cas? Is that mistletoe?”

 

“It’s traditional to hang it above a door, isn’t it?” Castiel asked innocently. Dean rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

 

“Uh, yeah, but not when there’s three guys sharing a room. And I’m not kissing Sammy.”

 

“Guess it’ll have to be Cas then!” Sam called from the bed. Dean began to blush, as the angel in front of him obliged and kissed him softly on the cheek.

 

“Merry Christmas Dean.”

 

“Merry Christmas, Cas.” Dean dropped his voice, hoping his brother wouldn’t overhear. “And sorry. We didn’t get you anything.”

 

“As long as you enjoy it, and Sam does too, that’s all the gifts I’ll need.”

 

Dean nodded, and his blush deepened as he reached over and kissed Castiel’s cheek also, before he disappeared into the bathroom. Castiel set the food to begin to cook, as Sam pulled on his new Christmas socks. Dean emerged from the bathroom, and set about opening his own gifts, patting the bed for Castiel to sit beside him as he did.

 

Once the presents were all unwrapped, and both brothers were in their awful knitwear - and even Castiel, when Dean discovered he had two sweaters and had forced the angel to participate - they sat around the small table with beers and their dinner, filling Castiel in on their previous Christmas experiences. Like the Christmas before they met Castiel, when Dean was expecting to spend the rest of his existence in Hell, and after dispensing two pagan Gods, bought each other pornography and beef jerky, or the ones in their childhood that they spent with their adoptive uncle, Bobby. In turn, Castiel talked about what he had witnessed at the birth of Jesus, and the old traditions that people used to observe before commercialism kicked in.

 

They drifted back to Dean’s bed when they were stuffed full of food, and lined up against the headboard to watch cheesy seasonal movies on TV, drinking eggnog and feeling content. Some time halfway through Die Hard, Castiel felt a weight on his shoulder, and realised that Dean had fallen asleep on him. Sam chuckled beside them, and slid off onto his own bed. He opened up one of the books that Castiel had given him as a gift and began reading.

 

“Sam?” Castiel asked quietly, not wanting to wake Dean.

 

“Yeah, Cas?”

 

“Is this … is this normal Christmas Day behaviour?”

 

“What, falling asleep after dinner and enjoying your gifts? Yep. Are you okay there with Dean?”

 

Castiel hesitated for a moment. He was very okay with the man he rescued from Hell using him as a makeshift pillow, but he wasn’t sure he wanted Sam to know that. But then, he considered, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for him to know that Castiel counted it as another present.

 

“I’m fine with Dean. Our profound bond-”

 

“Yeah. Sure.” Sam agreed, and ducked his head back into his book. Apparently, Castiel didn’t have to explain any further. He settled down further against the headboard, Dean now leaning heavily on him, his arm thrown across Castiel’s waist.

 

For their first real Christmas together, Castiel decided, it was a very good one.


End file.
